THE CHURCH - THE BIG QUESTION ON TITHE?
Readings: Malachi 3 v 8 - 11, Luke 6 v 38, Genesis 14 v 20
God is blessed by our tithes as an expression of submission
and love to him and his word. It benefits us to tithe, as God blesses us with
even more when we tithe. Tithe is the seed that we sow for an even better and
more harvest.
I am going to try and address issues that have become a hot
topic in most churches including ours. There is a question which many could
probably still be asking themselves each time an income comes to their pockets.
Can I give my tithe to the poor and is it wrong if I decide to give my tithes
straight to them? It looks like it's them that need the money most not the
church. This is a very good question, though a tricky one to answer. As hard as
it seems and as not so logical as it sounds, NO you can't do that. You can't
give your tithe to the poor.
One author wrote that, what comes to mind when you think of
a robber or thief is visualize a proper bank robber, a house burglar, or even a
thief on the street. Have you ever imagined that the greatest thief could be
you or one of your fellow church members? Impossible as it sounds Malachi (3: 8
- 11) put it straight up that all those who do not pay their tithe have robbed
God. We have robbed the Lord so many countless times in our lives. We have
directed our seeds to the wrong store houses and we have even gone to length in
trying to justify ourselves and our actions.
Let me just ask you this one thing, "When you came into
this world from your mother's womb, do you think that your mother conceived you
from nothing or did she need a man, the one you call your father, to be able to
conceive you in her womb?" She certainly needed your father to be able to
receive the blessing from God and that blessing is you. In simple terms you need
to sow a seed if you look forward to harvest and you need to sow a seed if you
expect God's blessing. It's as simple as that.
From a logical point of view, giving tithes to the poor
makes a lot of sense, especially in the world of our own where we have had to
endure with cases of funds abuse and finger pointing regarding misuse of funds.
I have been searching wide and wildly about this and finally I now understand.
We pay our tithe to the Lord through our church, not just church but the church
at which you fellowship.
One local Pastor once said, "If you want to eat food
from Chicken Inn you don't go and pay at Wimpy but at Chicken Inn so that you
get your food". This simply put means you can't go and give your tithe to
the poor because your spirit is being nurtured at church so that's where you
pay the tithe.
Your tithe was not meant to go to the poor, though when you
tithe the poor also become part of your good deed of tithing. The good example
to use here is the government, when people pay tax in most of the well organised
and developed nations, the tax you pay helps the government to take care of the
needs of the government, and also from this tax money, a certain percentage is
taken off by the government, so that it may help the less fortunate and the
poor people in that nation, by providing them with a system called welfare,
that takes care of the poor through housing them and helping them financially,
until they are able to support themselves.
Prayerful thought: I thank you Lord for educating me on what
Tithing is all about and what it is not. Make me a faithful tither for your
work.
Day 26
THE CHURCH - THE PRINCIPLE OF TITHING
Readings: Genesis 28 v 22, Genesis 8 v 22, Hebrews 2 v 10
Now, the same aspect as shared yesterday applies to the
principle of tithing. When God anoints
people that are supposed to be your spiritual parents or leaders, part of their
vision is to take care of the poor, and through the anointing upon their
ministry God reveals to them which kind of poor people that needs that spiritual
help and financial aid, so that the giving to the poor is not only the feeding
of their physical needs or lusts, but it also has a spiritual purpose which is
very important, and that's the redemption of their souls from an evil
lifestyle.
When you work and pay tax, this also gives you a legal right
as a citizen in that nation, but if you work and refuse to pay tax, you become
a thief and a law breaker and according to the law, you belong behind bars.
This also applies to us Christians, when we pay our tithes it means we have
obeyed God and along with all commandments we will have divine rights to be the
family of God.
So it is with this principle of tithing, that when you
tithe, your tithe being your identity, also your tithe being your strength, your
energy, your ideas, your honour and support towards God's kingdom (God's
vision, God's will and God's spiritual parenthood)is for your life. So your
tithe makes you a citizen with legal rights into God's vision. Hebrews 7: 6-7
says that Abraham gave the tithe of all to Melchizedek, prince of peace and in
return he received a blessing. Notice! The scripture did not say that he gave
the tithe to the poor. Hebrews 7 v 6 - 7 says here mortal men (spiritual
leaders, spiritual parents that pray for you, who watch over you and bless your
soul) receive the tithe, but there He receives them, of whom it's witnessed
that He lives.
Did you know that when you give your tithe the right place
that God wants you to put it into, you also declare by your action of tithing
that God lives (people will observe your life and come to this conclusion that
your God lives). Your tithe is your faith and honour that reveals to God, that
you accept and believe the words that are spoken to you about God from your
spiritual parents, to be nothing but the truth. The spiritual mistake people
make is that, most of the people give their tithe straight to the poor, and not
knowing that what made those people poor will also eventually come upon them
and make them victims of poverty.
What you need my friend is to find a spiritual base
(church), which will spiritually give birth to the vision God has given you,
and there you give your tithe, so that your tithe becomes your spiritual
connection to your heavenly inheritance, and there are some poor people that
you want to give into, let that money come from your finances after you have
taken off your tithes.
Prayerful thought: Now that I have been educated on Tithing,
I shall become a faithful and cheerful giver because God loves cheerful givers.
I shall get rid of self-justification of my actions and give into the house of
the Lord, my church.